


Bittersweet Blueprint Boy

by Anonymous



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Blood and Gore, Surgery, Trans Male Character, i swear this isnt against transitioning i am a transman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Naoto had always dreamed of getting gender affirmation surgeries. Unfortunately, his Shadow made the process a nightmare.After having been operated on without anesthetics, Naoto tries to adjust to the life he was always meant to have... however, it comes with big boy problems that he’s not sure how to deal with.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 28
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Kill My Vibe

They’d found him lying limp on the operating table in the laboratory. The only thing covering Naoto’s shivering body was a thin, white lab coat. He coughed roughly every so often, as if something were caught in his throat. However, his hacks were a welcome noise; they let the Investigation Team know that he was still alive. They weren’t too late after all.

Souji, who had since grown quite daring, was the first to step forward. He rolled Naoto onto his back and quickly lifted the lab coat to check for injuries. His whole body was caked with dry blood, mostly near his chest and pelvis. There were neatly placed bandages in those areas, too. Souji figured it rude to look more than that, so he draped the lab coat back over the other boy. That was when he noticed that Naoto’s mouth was covered in bile, as well as the puddle of it on the other side of the table. It had to have been from all the coughing.

“Can one of you come over here and bring me a napkin? Uh, everyone else, you can… look for Shirogane’s clothes around the room,” Souji called out to his friends. He didn’t look at them as he did. Partly because he couldn’t bear to look at their mortified faces, but partly because his eyes stayed fixed on the scene before him. He didn’t even avert his gaze when Yousuke came up to pass a handkerchief (that was most definitely Yukiko’s) to him. He simply took the small cloth and began to dutifully clean Naoto’s filthy lips.

“Please… please, stay strong a little longer,” Souji muttered as he did so. Of course, the other boy did not give a verbal reply. He simply stared at the ceiling with soulless eyes. However, Souji could’ve sworn he saw those eyes flicker with hope— just for a moment.

“I found his shirt! And his socks!”

“Here are his pants and shoes.”

“I’ve got his tie and… uh, boxers…”

“I found his hat, as well as… a crap ton of bandages. Wonder what that’s for?”

After a few minutes of searching, Yousuke ran to recover Naoto’s outfit from the others. He cradled the garments in his arms, bunching them together into a pile. He plopped it into Souji’s arms and then the two of them got to work dressing the younger boy. They were careful about moving his body, fearing they’d make his injuries worse, but they managed to do it. Naoto didn’t even squirm, though that was most likely because he was barely hanging on to life. Gently, his hat was placed back onto his head.

Kanji and Chie, the two physically strongest members of the Investigation Team, were in charge of carrying him out of the dungeon. They insisted on doing it alone, since Souji and Yousuke had “done so much already”. It wasn’t as if they needed to carry Naoto far, since all their leader needed to do was bite into a large radish to transport them back to the lab’s entrance. However, on the way to Junes from the dungeon, Kanji and Chie couldn’t help but look perturbed as they held the thin boy.

The first thing that the Investigation Team did upon exiting the TV world was come up with a cover story. In every prior kidnapping, all they had to do was escort the somewhat drowsy (but overall unharmed) victim back home. However, Naoto needed to be checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. After a moment of deliberation, Rise called the police. The group had decided that, since she was an actress, she’d be able to pull off misleading the police the best.

Blaring horns and flashing lights soon filled the department store. A drift of officers, most of them immediately recognizing the Detective Prince, began to investigate. Souji’s uncle stayed behind and questioned Rise, who sobbed as she explained how they’d found Naoto in the food court outside. They weren’t even crocodile tears, not anymore. She cried for real as the EMTs hauled him onto a gurney and rushed him into the ambulance outside.

Soon, though after some questioning, the police kicked the Investigation Team out of the store. They suggested that the seven of them take a day off after discovering something so gruesome. They couldn’t drive them all home, so the group of teenagers walked silently down the streets of Inaba. They all had the same question in mind, but nobody dared ask it.

_ How were we too late? _

The truth was that Naoto’s Shadow was as smart as the real deal, if not smarter. While he didn’t necessarily understand people’s feelings, he knew how they acted. Every human being had some sort of pattern to them. His skill was being able to predict and step around said patterns. Which was exactly why, when the Investigation Team descended to the ninth floor but didn’t enter the lab room, Shadow Naoto decided to pick up the pace. He knew that the meddlesome group would return the next day, so he needed to act fast. Thus, the Genome Project was completed in a little under twenty-four hours. Naoto Shirogane wasn’t supposed to have survived three consecutive surgeries.

Yet, somehow, he did.

The doctors called him tenacious, persistent, a miracle. His skin had been cut open, rearranged, and closed back up; plausible, at least with an anesthetic (but no trace of one had been found in Naoto’s system). His reproductive organs had been taken out, destroyed, and replaced; not even human. He’d even been afflicted by something akin to aerosol poisoning, which had been the reason for his coughing and vomiting, but managed to tough it out. The sheer amount of electrolytes and  _ blood  _ he’d lost should’ve killed him. But there he lay, sleeping almost peacefully in his hospital bed.

Bilateral mastectomy. Hysterectomy. Possibly a phalloplasty, though it wasn’t clear. Tons of smaller, additional procedures. Those were the surgeries that Naoto had undergone, according to the doctors. They all knew his secret, since they had his records and some had even cared for him since birth, so there wasn’t any confusion. One such nurse blabbed and suddenly all of Inaba knew what had happened to the Detective Prince— including his saviors. The bright side was that it made the Investigation Team certain that, since it was his Shadow, Naoto _ wanted  _ all of it.

He probably just hadn’t expected his wish to be granted in such a grotesque way. In any case, the moment that he opened his eyes, it was clear that he had a lot of adjusting to do.


	2. Open Galgallin Eyes

_ “Ugh… Why must you struggle so much?” _

Naoto opened his eyes to a pale, white room. Each and everyone one of his muscles ached, but he felt a soft surface beneath him. His neck felt propped up, too, so he was definitely on a bed with a pillow of some sort. A bright light shone from above and a thin, yellow curtain was pulled around him from light to left. Upon observing his surroundings, he deduced that he was in a hospital. The last thing he needed to figure out was  _ why. _

The last thing Naoto remembered was his Shadow making a third incision, seeing fresh blood ooze out of his abdomen, and promptly passing out from the pain. Everything afterward was a bit hazy, though he hoped he’d recover his memory in the coming days. After all, if he couldn’t recall a single detail about the person who’d kidnapped him, using himself as bait would’ve all been for nothing.

Naoto tilted his head down and, as expected, saw a hospital gown. He carefully moved his hand and pulled up the collar with his thumb and index finger. Underneath the cloth, he could see his flat chest and a good amount of bandages to cover the scarring. If he squinted, he could see what was farther down as well. For the first time since he’d been kidnapped, no, for the first time in years, he smiled.

Okay, maybe not  _ all  _ for nothing.

_ “Patients must lie still for me to drill proper holes into them.” _

Naoto's breath hitched upon the sudden memory. His heart began to thump so violently that it made his chest ache. He took his hand off of his gown and reached for the clicker. He jammed his thumb onto the button that called for a nurse. A monotonous beep rang in his ears, signifying that a nurse had been called. He needed water, before he could— crap, he threw up a little in his mouth. Acidity overwhelmed his taste buds.

“Naoto-sama, are you alright?” a cool voice shouted. Heavy footsteps approached, definitely not a nurse, and he soon came face to face with a bespectacled man.  _ I must have been making quite the perturbed face to elicit such a rush from a police officer,  _ Naoto thought to himself. His vision was still fuzzy from having recently woken up, so he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear it up. It was then that he realized that the man before him was actually his secretary, Yakushiji.

“Naoto-sama, can you hear me? Is something wrong?” he reiterated. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, but the way his mouth warped into a frown was enough to let Naoto know that his secretary was beside himself with worry.

“I was simply feeling a bit nauseous, Yakushiji. Other than that, I am fine,” he reassured the man. He attempted to sit upright when a jolt of pain surged through his chest. His breath hitched once again.

“Naoto-sama!” Yakushiji exclaimed. He instinctively jumped to the boy’s aid, holding his sides to keep him balanced. Naoto trembled and gripped his small fingers around his secretary’s. He didn’t let go until the nurse who’d been called finally arrived. Once the situation was explained to her, she shook her head disapprovingly.

“I’m… glad to see you awake, but that doesn’t mean you can act like you always do. You’re recovering from a surgery in your chest region, which affects most functions in your torso. Relax and stop being so antsy, will you?” the nurse, named Uehara, chided him. She clicked her tongue, told the two of them that doctors would come in for some tests soon, and left. Naoto hadn’t even gotten the chance to ask her for water like he’d called her for. His mouth still tasted rancid.

“Naoto-sama, you seem to be contemplating something. Do you need me to fetch anything for you?” Yakushiji asked, having noticed the boy’s disgust. Naoto was about to ask  _ him _ for water instead when he realized that there were more important matters at hand. Assuming that he only had a few minutes before he was taken away by doctors with questions, he ought to ask Yakushiji questions himself. Dozens filled his mind, mostly rational ones like what the date was or if the investigation had advanced. However, none left Naoto’s mouth.

“Is Grampa okay?” he asked in a meek voice. He shivered, remembering that the one who spliced him had the same voice, but pushed those thoughts aside for the time being.

“Master searched for you day and night. When he got the call that you’d been found, he rushed to the hospital. He stood outside the emergency room until he received word that you were stable. The only reason I am here and he is not is because he needed to go home and rest after pulling so many all-nighters,” Yakushiji explained. He detailed the events with great fervor, yet great sorrow. He’d been working for the Shirogane family for a very long time, so his compassion for them ran deep.

“Thank you…” Naoto muttered. He felt a pang of guilt upon realizing that he’d made his grandfather worry. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how reckless he’d been. He’d purposefully gotten kidnapped, not for the good of the town but to satiate his personal hunger for the truth. Perhaps he really was an impulsive little kid who couldn’t do anything, like all the older men in his department said. Perhaps he had both the body  _ and _ mind of a child. Perhaps he was a disgrace to his grandfather and the Shirogane name.

All those thoughts swirled into one big lump of negativity and manifested as tears. Yakushiji immediately moved to comfort the boy, holding him close and letting him bawl into the crook of his suit jacket. He didn’t say a word, his compassion striking yet again. He simply let his employer lean on him until the doctors came and separated them.

Naoto’s eyes gleamed a sickening yellow as he cried, though Yakushiji didn’t notice from behind his polarized lenses.


	3. Inspect Elements-Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Check-up time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for: Needles, use of the term Gender Identity Disorder
> 
> Note: I do not agree with the above medical term. I am glad that being transgender is no longer referred to as such in my country. However, this is a story set in Japan in 2011. As a writer, it is my duty to be accurate to my surroundings. And as a trans man, it is my duty to tackle issues in my community. I apologize if anyone is put off by this, though I believe it is something we should be able to talk about.

After he dried up his puffy eyes with a handkerchief that Yakushiji had given him, Naoto was carefully transported to a check-up room. A few nurses had picked him up, put him on a gurney, and wheeled him around the hospital. He figured that the room he was headed toward was on the other side of the hospital from the ICU, since he’d been on the move for what felt like a long time.

Naoto glanced wearily around the white hallways. The windows were so polished that the sunlight’s gleam reflected off of it and beamed right at him. That told him that it was morning, at least. He’d forgotten how much brighter the outdoors were after spending a few days in the laboratory. He closed his eyes tightly and turned away from the light.

_ Who in their right mind would put that much effort into scrubbing a window? For what purpose? _

“Shirogane-san, are you alright?” the nurse from before asked as she brought the gurney to a halt. She leaned downward and looked at Naoto with a knitted brow. The first thing he asked was, of course,

“Are we… at the checkup room?” He let out a small cough between his words, which startled him enough that he jerked his eyelids open. He came face to face with the nurse. He squinted and scrutinized the name tag hanging around her neck.

“Uehara-san, right…” he muttered to himself. The nurse pinched her nose bridge and let out a sharp breath.

“Yes, we are, so can you answer my question now? Jeez, you’re making me consider getting you a brain scan, too,” she scolded. She shot Naoto a cold glare, but he simply stared back at her with wide eyes. Something about his expression must have unnerved Uehara, he inferred, as her gaze softened. She then clarified,

“Well, you had your eyes closed the whole way here. If they feel irritated, you need to say so.” Her tone was a smidgen more caring than before. She reached a hand to the doorknob, though she left her hand hovering over it for a moment.

“The doctor will be here soon. After she checks you out, I’ll be back to draw your blood,” Uehara informed her patient. She then opened the door, rolled Naoto in, and left him with the other nurse inside. He barely managed to squeak out an “I’m fine, thank you” before the door shut back in his face.

The new nurse was much kinder than Uehara, he observed, but she was far more irritating. She didn’t mean to be, Naoto understood that, but the questions she asked made him want to tear his hair out. He was glad that he couldn’t move his arms, otherwise he would have. Unaware of his internal turmoil, the nurse rephrased the same inquiry over and over again.

“Do you feel uncomfortable without your breasts?”

“Does having male sexual organs bother you?”

“Do you wish you could go back to your old body?”

The answer was always “no” because everything that had happened was actually Naoto’s intention. It’d been carried out by someone with his face, after all. He felt off, fine, but that was just because one’s hormones naturally went out of whack after such procedures. He’d done enough research over the years to know that.

_ That’s right, this was my most secret desire,  _ he thought to himself. He almost felt afraid to admit it, it was something he’d pushed down for ages, but he had to tell the nurse. It was vital to the evaluation, since the last thing he wanted was doctors up in his business trying to undo whatever spell had been cast on him.

That’s right, a spell. That’s what it was like, as far as he remembered. It was as if he was in a fable and a fairy godmother came down and granted his wishes. Except his fairy godmother was actually a demonic clone who used sharpened blades instead of sparkly sorcery.  _ All magic comes with a price,  _ he remembered,  _ I guess this is mine. _

He fit the part. His moniker was the Detective Prince, for crying out loud. The curse in his story was that he had lived every day in fear. As soon as his voice leaked out, as soon as his suit came off, as soon as someone got too close, the magic that made him a pass for a prince would wear off— the same way Cinderella’s dress faded away at midnight in the old fairytale. Funny, he recalled his peers mentioning the “Midnight Channel” once.

Naoto had then impulsively sought out the murderer alone in an attempt to prove himself. He was kidnapped and sent to a strange world, an actual fantasy world, where he met a shadow of himself. It told him that he could get rid of the time limit to his princely transformation. He tried to deny it, but he wanted to give in. It seemed so easy. Turned out it wasn’t.

That was about all he recalled, but how was he supposed to explain all of that without sounding delusional? The nurse was already bewildered by his curt responses that implied he liked his metamorphosed body. So, Naoto simply held his tongue, told half of the truth, and reminded himself that the nurse didn’t know any better.

“Shirogane-san, were you ever given a preliminary diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder?” she asked once she was done with her survey. She had a cautious tone, half sympathetic yet half perturbed. Fittingly, she nervously tapped the end of her pen on the clipboard she was jotting things down on. The noise irritated Naoto, though the label irritated him even more; he’d almost forgotten that he still lived in Inaba and the year was still 2011.

“No,” he muttered. He didn’t like the implication that he wasn’t in his right mind. He was and so were the other transgender people he’d read about. Alas, the special provision that allowed one to change their gender marker— something that had been passed about eight years ago, when Naoto was eight, then revised five years later, when he was thirteen— required a diagnosis.

“Well, I’m no doctor, but…” the nurse whispered, leaning down close, “It sounds like you have it. I’m not the one who’s supposed to question you about  _ how _ this happened, the police are, but… If this is some sort of stunt, I hope you know that you can’t change your gender marker unless you have a diagnosis.” She almost seemed to be chiding him, as if he was an irresponsible teenager.

_ You’re just a child. _

“I know,” was all Naoto replied. Whether it was to the nurse or to himself, he was unsure. Still, a smidgen of his annoyance slipped out which probably didn’t help him sound more mature. His throat felt itchy, too. He never did get that water.

“As long as you understand that, I guess my work here is done,” the nurse huffed, “The doctor should be here soon to inspect your injuries. He can be more thorough now that you’re awake.” She turned to the computer and started inputting what she’d written on the clipboard. The room became silent, only the sound of the keys clacking echoing within, and remained that way until the doctor entered the room. He immediately began speaking, erasing the quiet.

“Alright, here’s our agenda for today. This will be like a regular physical check-up, though you’ll move a lot less and I’ll be paying extra close attention to your scar tissue. I’ll also get you an x-ray and, after that, Nurse Uehara will take your blood. Sounds good?” he said as soon as he shut the door behind him. He was concise, which Naoto liked, though his white lab coat unnerved him.  _ The last time I resigned myself to someone wearing one of those, I was…  _

He cut off that train of thought; it would get him nowhere, especially when licensed doctors were usually not dangerous. Naoto nodded weakly and the doctor began the examination.

As expected, he took out neither strange laser guns nor large razor blades. There was a lot of poking and prodding, which bugged Naoto, but it was better than bleeding out. Questions such as “does it hurt here?” were asked, to which the answer was always “it hurts everywhere, sir” and so on. The nurse assisted from time to time, mainly with undoing the bandages that covered Naoto’s scars and then putting them back on once the doctor had examined them enough, and the boring check-up finished soon after.

“Thank you, nurse, you may leave now. Call in Uehara on your way out, alright?” the doctor said, clapping his hands together upon finishing the procedure. The nurse nodded and left the room.

Naoto began to stare warily at the doctor and grew quiet again. He could see him flipping through the evaluation, though, which was worrisome. What if the nurse had written down her theory? Surely the doctor would get mad and scold him, too.

Suddenly, the doctor’s eyes widened and stopped at the last sheet. He held the paper in between his fingers, creasing it downward to keep it open, then slowly turned to look at Naoto.

“I’m here now, sir, I have everything with me to take blood. I have other patients to get to after this, so I would appreciate it if you let me do this quickly and close that gaping mouth of yours,” Uehara said, restlessly stumbling through the door. She looked less than pleased and carried materials for drawing blood under the crook of her elbow.

_ Why is she so snippy? _ Naoto couldn’t figure out the reason; he’d always had trouble understanding other people. Her attitude did save him from a difficult conversation, though, so he was grateful.

“Thank you,” Naoto muttered in gratitude, even though he knew Uehara wouldn’t understand him in return.

“I haven’t done anything yet, Shirogane-san,” she sighed. She then plucked a blue tourniquet off of the medical tray she’d wheeled over and wrapped it around Naoto’s forearm. The feeling of the tight rubber pressing around his skin was uncomfortable, though not unbearable.

“Make a fist and hold it,” Uehara ordered. He did as told and watched intently as she swabbed the crook of his elbow with an alcohol wipe. He averted his gaze the second she took out the needle, though.

“Alright, I’m going to draw your blood now,” Uehara announced flatly. Only a second later, Naoto felt a sharp prick in his skin. It hurt, not as bad as being chopped open did, but the continuous stinging was painful. He tried his hardest to stay relaxed and took heavy breaths.

“I have to be strong, I have to be brave,” Naoto muttered to himself over and over again until he felt the needle pull out. Uehara slapped a band aid over his wound and then put his blood sample in a vial. Something about the liquid bugged him, though he couldn’t pinpoint what.

“Off to get scanned you go,” Uehara hummed, turning around and walking out the door. The doctor took that as his cue to get up and wheel Naoto to the x-ray room. Thankfully, the doctor didn’t mention his papers on their way there.

The x-rays were simple and not painful. They were, however, incredibly boring. Naoto cursed his lack of movement, otherwise he would have run out the door right then and there. He was meant to be doing great things on a crime scene, not being cooped up in a room that reeked of soap.

“We’re done, Shirogane-san. We’ll let you rest in your room for a while now,” the doctor said after what felt like an eternity. Naoto let out a sigh of relief once he’d been wheeled back to the room he started in.

“We’ll get your results back to you by tomorrow,” were the doctor’s parting words. He placed a small packet of soda crackers that he’d taken out of his pocket onto the hospital bed desk.

“Tomorrow? The wait will be even more boring than the x-rays,” Naoto grumbled as he tore open the plastic and stuffed the saltines into his mouth. He crunched aggressively, swallowed, then groaned in disdain.

Luckily, Naoto fell asleep soon afterward. He was still recovering from huge operations, after all. He woke up the next day to the sound of his grandfather’s voice. Ignoring how dazed he felt, he tuned into the conversation with the doctor.

“...Whether the new reproductive organ functions or not is unclear, seeing as his hormone levels are at a place where it might be difficult for them to… operate. The only thing we can say for certain is that it’s there,” the doctor explained. “We still can’t understand how. We have a guess of what procedure he underwent for the appearance was due to the… size but there’s no signs of a skin graft anywhere on his body.”

Naoto cringed at that, an awkward realization setting in. He knew how, though he wasn’t about to say it. At least it meant that his whining clone had been good for something in the end.

“Thank you for informing me. I’m just glad to hear that my grandchild is alive.”

It was only when he heard his grandfather’s reply that Naoto remembered this was the first time he’d seen the older man since getting kidnapped. He started to feel cold all over and sick to his stomach.

Naoto was pretty sure that his grandfather only let him dress as he pleased because he’d always wanted a male heir to the Shirogane name. They never talked about it, or transgender issues at all for that matter, unlike with Yakushiji who’d always been supportive. However, they’d be forced to once the doctor left.

_ That rash child… He just had to jump the gun, didn’t he? I was waiting for a reason, damn it,  _ Naoto griped internally. He could no longer hear the doctor over his thoughts. He didn’t have a reason to, really, his grandfather would just yell all the information back at him later while scolding him for being foolish and improper and…

Suddenly, there was warmth. A larger, wrinklier hand wrapped around his own. Naoto looked up at his grandfather with a bewildered and slightly perturbed gaze. They hadn’t held hands like that in years, not since some cop made a fool of them both because “eleven-year-old boys ought not to cling to their parents anymore”.

“These things may be overwhelming but they’re important,” his grandfather stated gruffly. He looked away as he gave his go-to advice for when Naoto fretted, but he didn’t let go of his hand either. That sort of indirect affection, which he’d received since he was small, soothed him back into a calmer state.

“Sorry for waking you, may I continue?” the doctor asked, interrupting the family moment. Naoto snapped back to reality, pulled away, and nodded. That was embarrassing.

“Yes, you may continue.”

“Well, other than what I mentioned before and the physical operations, he seems fine. There’s been no damage to nearby organs, no broken bones, or any injuries otherwise. His hormones are all at normal levels, his blood pressure is…”

“What about chromosome changes?” Naoto blurted out. It was the wrong thing to get hung up on and it didn’t matter in the long run, though he had to ask it. He had to know if the bullshit his other self spouted was true.

“Huh? Why would that have changed? I’d support my claim by saying it’s medically impossible but, since you’ve already surprised us, I cannot. However, I  _ can _ say that you didn’t surprise us in that sense.”

Naoto thanked the doctor for his response, leaned his head into the pillow, and rolled his eyes.  _ That blithering idiot can change the wiring but not the code? What a half-baked job. He even had the audacity to call it the Genome Project but, clearly, that was false advertising. _

It was like the commercials for “as seen on TV” products. The ads would display a seemingly innovative gadget and convince people to order. Each product flaunted good reviews on air and on the box but always ended up shitty and malfunctional. They worked for a good month, then fell apart. A band-aid fix.

“As seen on TV…” Naoto muttered to himself. He  _ had  _ been shoved into one, hadn’t he? Perhaps the world within it worked in a similar way; it took whatever people wanted to see, projected it onto the television, and gave it to the audience quickly and sloppily. A lightbulb went off in his head and he once again wished he were still working on the case.

“What was that? You don’t feel ill, do you?” his grandfather asked worriedly. He grabbed for Naoto’s hand once again, though that time he managed to dodge.

“It’s nothing,” he lied through his teeth. That marked the first time he’d ever kept information about a case from him. Having a good ol’ talk with his grandfather was going to be awkward indeed.

“Now’s not the time to be stubborn,” the older man reprimanded, growing cross. He furrowed his brow and finally snuck a glance at his grandson.

“Ah, right, my throat’s been itchy,” Naoto finally admitted, hoping that’d change the subject. He flicked his neck twice with his index finger. There was no Adam’s Apple there.

“Itchy? Scans of your lungs came out fine and your tonsils don’t appear to be enflamed,” the doctor reassured. He scratched his head in confusion and went silent for a moment. “It’s almost autumn, maybe you’ve just caught a cold.”

“Maybe,” Naoto replied. At that moment, he coughed. A burning, scratching sensation passed through his throat. In the back of his mind, he began to think that maybe it had something to do with the case.

“If that’s all, I’ll leave you two be,” the doctor said awkwardly. He turned around and filed out of the room, leaving just Naoto and his grandfather.

“Can we talk?”

Shit. The case would have to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive, I’m alive, don’t worry! To apologize for such a long delay, this chapter is three times longer than usual. From here on out, I’ll be more diligent about updating since this is an anonymous fic and that may leave readers feeling uncertain. I hope you all enjoyed.


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